Guelph Politicast

Open Sources Guelph #401 - November 17, 2022

This week on Open Sources Guelph we're going to undermine the show we've put so much time and energy into. All the kids are doing self-destruction these days, whether that's governments failing on climate action, or a certain billionaire failing with business management. We're going to talk about that, and then we'll talk to someone who isn't failing, one of the new Guelph city councillors.
This Thursday, November 17, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Little COP of Horrors. On the same week that the Earth crossed the 8 billion people mark (and just 12 years after we crossed 7 billion), world leaders gathered in Egypt for the annual conference to talk about the current state of the fight against climate change. There was a twist this time with a number of poorer countries demanding that richer ones pay for climate solutions, but is there any reason to expect real action?
Elon with the Wind. The biggest story in media right now involves the world's richest man buying one of the most influential social media platforms and essentially setting fire to it. Musk's exorbitant $44 billion purchase of Twitter resulted in numerous fumbles in his first few weeks of ownership, and some people are questioning whether Twitter will survive the experience. Is there a viable future for Musk?
Caton of the Union. The new city council was sworn in to office this week, and on this 401st episode of the show, we will talk to the new councillor from Guelph's first ward. Erin Caton joins us to talk about her first few days as a city councillor, the orientation experience, and making her agenda a reality. Plus, we will talk about the first piece of serious business for council: a unified City response to the Ontario government's Bill 23.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #272 - November 16, 2022 (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)

This week on End Credits, we get excited to remember. The long anticipated sequel to Black Panther arrives in theatres, and it carries with it a hint of sadness because of the death of its star. While a new Panther arises in Wakanda Forever, we will first talk about some of the latest film news that has gotten chins wagging recently around streaming issues and Oscar buzz.
This Wednesday, November 16, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Candice Lepage will discuss:
Streaming of Consciousness. This week, we go back to our regular movie news segment to talk about some of the latest issues in the movie business. Is a holographic Tom Cruise the future of the movie business? Is Steven Spielberg flexible on what goes to theatres, and what goes to streaming? And are some of the best animated movies of the year eligible for the Oscar for technical reasons? For the first time in a long time, we cover The News!
REVIEW: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). The untimely death of Chadwick Boseman affected many people, including fans of his his boundary breaking superhero alterego, the Black Panther. How would the Marvel sequel address the loss of its star? By acknowledging it. Wakanda Forever begins with the loss of its king and protector, and seques into the introduction of a major new Marvel character who represents a major threat to everyone's favourite high-tech African kingdom. So is this new Black Panther able to deliver on the promise of the original?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #348 – What’s Next? Part 2: The Next Election

Last week, we covered the transition from the previous council to the new, and this week, we look far-ish into the future to the next election, the one in October 2026. You will hear in this podcast that planning for the next election begins almost immediately after the one that’s just completed, because there are a lot of complicated questions that need to be answered before the time comes to vote again.
Now you may not be really in a mood to think about voting again; we’ve had three elections in the last 13 months, but elections don’t grow on trees, so to speak. Thousands of  hours go into planning, setting up, and executing an election, and in the case of municipal elections, it’s just one of the functions of the City department responsible for overseeing and executing the public meetings of council and committees. 
There's a lot to consider before the next election, and only some of it is under the clerks' control. They're probably going to talk about internet voting as a way of encouraging anemic voter turnout, in addition to being a way to make the election generally more accessible. By the 2026 election, the list of electors should be moved from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation to Elections Ontario, so that's one problem solved, but what are the other issues?
Stephen O’Brien, who is the City Clerk for the City of Guelph, joins us again to answer that question and more. He will talk about internet voting, and the arguments for and against. O'Brien will also discuss how his staff examines the potential voting methods, and whether increasing voter turnout should be a consideration in decisions made by his office. And finally, he will talk about updating campaign rules, and the effect of misinformation and conspiracies on his job.
So let's talk about the 2026 election on this 2022 edition of the Guelph Politicast!
The Have Your Say survey for post-election feedback is now closed, but you can still get in touch with the clerks office at clerks [at] guelph.ca. The next council meeting is Tuesday November 22 at 10 am to discuss the City response to Bill 23, and that report will be posted on the City’s council calendar page on Friday. You can still sign up to delegate for that meeting any time before this Friday at 10 am by clicking here.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here, or download them on your favourite podcast app at Apple, Stitcher, Google, TuneIn and Spotify .
Also, when you subscribe to the Guelph Politicast channel and you will also get an episode of Open Sources Guelph every Monday, and an episode of End Credits every Friday.

Open Sources Guelph #400 - November 10, 2022

 
This week on Open Sources Guelph we turn 400! The above image was posted with the very first show notes page for our very first episode, so get ready to enter the time capsule as we re-examine eight years and 399 episodes worth of material. At the same time, we will look at the months and years to come with our special 400th guest, the once and future mayor of the Royal City!
This Thursday, November 10, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
The 400 Shows. They said we wouldn't make it to one hundred episodes! Actually, they never said that. But now we're here, 399 episodes from where we started from when the show began in January 2015. We will spend the first half of this very special episode talking about where we've been, how things have changed, and maybe even where things are going next. Spoiler Alert: The future is scary.
Guthrie in a Row. In the recent election, Mayor Cam Guthrie won handily with over 70 per cent support, which can be seen as a big vote of confidence from the general public about his last eight years as the head of council. But now the real work begins. Guthrie joins us to set the table for the new term by talking about how he'll work with the new council to answer the immediate and long-term challenges to Guelph.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #271 - November 9, 2022 (The Stranger)

This week on End Credits, we're going to Netflix and chill. Well, we're going to Netflix anyway. The streamer has been through the maelstrom lately, so this week we will offer some Netflix appreciation by reviewing their latest underrated acquisition, the Australian crime thriller The Stronger. And speaking of Netflix's hidden gems, we'll find you some more.
This Wednesday, November 9, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Tim Phillips will discuss:
Unglut Gems. There's a lot of stuff on Netflix. A lot of stuff. The model of Netflix is essentially to flood the zone with so much stuff that you never know what to pick, but what if someone told you where you can dig for gold? That's the goal for the first part of this show. We will talk about six overlooked flicks now available on Netflix that you should see including a tale of love and loss in Africa to a tale of love and loss in Australia, but with zombies!
REVIEW: The Stranger (2022). In 2002, a young boy went missing in the northeastern part of Australia and 10 years later the case was still unsolved. The police decided to throw a Hail Mary pass by running an undercover op on their prime suspect in order to illicit a confession, and it was successful, but at what cost? A true-life crime story is dramatized into a two-hander with Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris where the deserts and forests of the Australian wilderness become a foreboding neo-noir setting. Is The Stranger worth digging through your queue for?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #347 - What’s Next Part 1: The Transition

On November 15, five new city councillors are going to formally take their seat around the horseshoe, and they’re five people bringing a variety of skills and experiences to the table. Joining them are eight experienced councillors, so how do all these ingredients gel to immediately form a cohesive unit that will tackle some of the biggest challenges our local government has faced.
Our guest for the next two weeks is Stephen O’Brien, the City Clerk for the City of Guelph. Among his numerous duties, O’Brien is also the administrator of our municipal elections, and it's that specific work we're going to talk about beginning with this important question: What happens after the election is over? This week, we’re going to talk about what a council transition period looks like at Guelph City Hall.
Now there’s no such thing, really, as a transition period for local government, at least not in the way we understand it from the American example. Having said that, there’s a lot for an incoming councillor to get caught up on from the ongoing work of professional staff to learning the general instruction manual for council from learning about the Procedural Bylaw to what a point of order is.
That's a lot of stuff to cover, and this week O’Brien will cover some of that with us. He will talk about what essential reading and training new councillors have to receive, and what refreshers the incumbent councillors get before the new term begins. He will also talk about the limits of councillor power, and the rules that govern a councillor's role. Also, O'Brien will discuss the leftover paperwork from the election, and his personal advice is to the incoming council class.
So let's talk about the transition to a new term on this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast!
The inaugural first meeting of city council is on Tuesday November 15 at 6:30 pm in the council chambers at 1 Carden Street. There’s also a mock meeting for the new council to get acquainted with procedure and technology at 9:30 am that same day. Come back here next week for part two of our discussion with O’Brien where we talk about planning for the 2026 municipal election.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here, or download them on your favourite podcast app at Apple, Stitcher, Google, TuneIn and Spotify .
Also, when you subscribe to the Guelph Politicast channel and you will also get an episode of Open Sources Guelph every Monday, and an episode of End Credits every Friday.

Open Sources Guelph #399 - November 3, 2022

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're going to talk about some of our favourite characters. The latest hearings in the Emergencies Act inquiry brought out a lot of famous names from the Freedom Convoy, and they we'll dip south of the border to catch up with some long forgotten friends there. In the back half, we'll have to say a surprise goodbye to a frequent friend of the show who was just voted out.
This Thursday, November 3, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Failing Sloly. This week at the Public Order Emergency Commission, aka: the public inquiry into the Emergencies Act, we started with the ongoing testimony of former Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly, who further defined the route of dysfunction in the service, but the rest of the week promised a who's who of Convoy leaders like Chris Barber and Brigette Belton. What new have we learned?
What's the Frequency, Nancy? Last Friday's attack in the home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the assault of her husband with a hammer, has dredged up new concerns about political violence, and just in time for the American midterm elections. We'll talk about the far-right extremism that might be about to gain power in the U.S. and whether or not the Democrats have enough juice left to stop them.
Raiders of the Lost Mark. In the only upset for Guelph on Election Night, two-term Ward 6 Councillor Mark MacKinnon fell in defeat to Ken Yee Chew by a little over 400 votes. Coming off his last city council meeting as a sitting councillor (for now?), MacKinnon joins us this week to talk about his council accomplishments, what he's learned from losing, what he's working on next, and his advice for the new kid.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #270 - November 2 2022 (Blonde)

This week on End Credits, we will go from black-and-white to colour, and back again. That's a reference to the filmmaking style of the latest Netflix attempt for awards' consideration, Blonde, which is all about the life of Marilyn Monroe. You might have heard of her, and you also might have heard about some of these other movies about Hollywood life. 
This Wednesday, November2, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss:
Movies Like Movies. If there's one thing that Hollywood likes to do, it's looking inward to find good story material. Blonde is not the first movie about the movie business, and the people that make movies, and it won't be last, so for the first part of our show this week, we will look at Hollywood looking at itself. From tales of Hollywood legends in their later years to a mockumentary about a lost star from the 90s, we will honour the movies... about movies.
REVIEW: Blonde (2022). When you think of Hollywood glamour, there's probably no better example than Marilyn Monroe. Although she died at the age of 36 over 60 years ago, she still casts a long shadow as an icon, and now her sad life's been captured on film again in the controversial bio-pic, Blonde. Acclaimed filmmaker Andrew Dominik deconstructs Monroe's story, and he gets rare talent in Ana de Armas who seems to captures Marilyn both physically and in spirt, but what about the movie itself? Is Blonde worthy of its larger than life subject?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #346 - STEM Women’s Work...

Science, technology, engineering and math make up the four letters in "STEM", which is the subject of a new exhibit at the Guelph Civic Museum. In "Iron Willed: Women in STEM", you can travel through the history of science and engage with all the great women that have achieved big wins in science while overcoming tremendous social and societal barriers thrown in front of them, even in the 21st century.
From Marie Curie to Donna Strickland, the history of women in science has not just been a story about the advancement of scientific understanding and knowledge, but a story about social progress. Old-fashioned ideas about the role women can play in science can be seen in modern statistics, where only about 20 per cent of people receiving physics degrees are women, the lowest of all the physical sciences. 
Now, we can all understand the struggle with the "Iron Willed" exhibit, which originated from Ingenium, a group of Ottawa museums, and was then adapted for Guelph with information about local scientists by Laura Coady, who is the Collections and Research Co-ordinator of Guelph Museums. Coady joins us this week, and so does University of Guelph physics prof Dr. Joanne O’Meara  and U of G microbial ecologist Dr. Heather Slinn.
With all this brain power on this week’s edition of the podcast, we will talk about the highlights of the exhibit, how it was made Guelph-friendly, and some of the interesting things you will find when you visit. We will also talk about the difficulties in getting more women into scientific fields, why the struggle starts long before the first year of university, and we will discuss the best ways to support women in STEM with some personal messages from the guests to their younger selves.
So let's dig into the world of Women in STEM, and the challenges they face, on this week's Guelph Politicast!
You can learn more about "Iron Willed: Women in STEM" at the Guelph Museums website, and you can also visit the exhibit in-person at the Guelph Civic Museum any time from now until February 20. You can learn more about Royal City Science and their efforts to build a science centre in Guelph at their website, and you can follow 500 Women Scientists Guelph on Twitter.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here, or download them on your favourite podcast app at Apple, Stitcher, Google, TuneIn and Spotify .
Also, when you subscribe to the Guelph Politicast channel and you will also get an episode of Open Sources Guelph every Monday, and an episode of End Credits every Friday.

Open Sources Guelph #398 - October 27, 2022

This week on Open Sources Guelph, it's back to normal. Or, at least, what passes for normal. With the election over, the format is getting back to normal at least with two news items and an interview. This week, we're talking about the inquiry into the Emergencies Act, and the still relatively new government in Queen's Park, plus we will have an interview with an outgoing member of city council about a job well done.
This Thursday, October 27, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Inquiry Minds Want to Know. For the past two weeks, officials have been probing the use of the Emergencies Act. Testimony so far has revealed a complete breakdown in planning and intelligence gathering during the so-called "Freedom Convoy", but we kind of knew that already. Also, Premier Doug Ford is of the opinion he doesn't have to testify even after other witnesses have thrown him under the bus. We'll catch up.
Fall Back to Queen's Park. The Government of Ontario took some time off to let the municipal elections unfold, but they were back in business in a big way Tuesday with new legislation meant to help with the housing crisis. The real dark cloud though is the gathering spectre of job action as CUPE educational workers are in a legal strike position a week from today. So how are things going in the House of Ford?
Done Hasslin' With the Hof'. She wasn't running for re-election on Monday, but this week we're going to talk to June Hofland, now the outgoing Ward 3 City Councillor. Hofland's been on council since 2006, so she's leaving with a wealth of experience and insight dealing with municipal matters, and we're going to pick her brain about some of those lessons, plus, we will ask her about her legacy and her unfinished business.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.